County profile
Santa Barbara County, CA
United States · GDP 2024
#144 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 95% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$41.4B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+7.2%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
160,460
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
12,484
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$65.8k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
442,065
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
4.2%
Median HH income
$98.2k±$2.4k
Bachelor's degree+
36.8%±0.8%
Poverty rate
14.7%±0.8%
Business applications
4,011 · 2025
Retail establishments
1,479
33.4/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Deckers Outdoor CorporationConsumer Cyclical$5.5B75B+2Sonos, Inc.Technology$1.4B57C3AppFolio Inc.Technology$950.8M84B+4Olaplex Holdings, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$423.0M42D5Inogen, Inc.Healthcare$295.3M71B6American Riviera BancorpFinancial Services$69.1M51D7Community Bancorp of Santa MariaFinancial Services$21.0M53D8Bloomios, Inc.Healthcare$6.1M——9Aeluma, Inc.Technology$4.7M43D10Digital Locations IncIndustrials$25.8k——11Palomino Labs IncTechnology———12AMASS Brands Inc. Common StockConsumer Defensive———13Community West BancsharesFinancial Services———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Food & accommodation25%
Health care23%
Retail trade18%
Manufacturing13%
Professional services11%
Construction9%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
442,065
residents · 2025 · -1.4% since 2020
Income per capita $88.3k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−23,912
International migration+7,995
Natural change+10,153
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$29.9B2019
$31.1B2020
$34.7B2021
$36.9B2022
$38.6B2023
$41.4B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$790.7k±$17.6k
Median gross rent
$2.1k/mo±$35/mo
Vacancy rate
6.8%±0.5%
Affordability
12.0× wages
Residential permits
$342.9M
1,371 units · 3.1/1k pop
FEMA risk score
99.0
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$3.1k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Landslide 100Drought 100Earthquake 99
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
14732016
15272017
15872018
16322019
16612020
18612021
22222022
23762023
25142024
25962025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 19% since 20211,1522021
1,0962022
4712023
7502024
1,3712025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
98.1 km
I-5
Nearest freight rail
23.4 km
UP
Nearest port
32.6 km
VENOCO ELLWOOD OIL & GAS PROCESSING FACILITY
Nearest commercial airport
31.9 km
SANTA BARBARA MUNI
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR19 filings from 5 companies here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$65.8k
avg. annual pay · +18% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Santa Barbara?
Santa Barbara's economy produced $41.4B in 2024, growing 7.2% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is food & accommodation.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.